Media Reports from Munster Semi-Final win against Kilmallock

Gleeson relieved

Thurles
Sarsfields manager Michael Gleeson was breathing a sigh of relief after
his side's hard-earned AIB Munster club SHC semi-final victory over
Kilmallock.

"Coming down here, we knew it wasn't going to be easy," he admitted after the Sars' 2-10 to 0-11 win.

"It
was a battle the whole way. We got a break with the first goal and had
been struggling big-time up to then. Even after that we struggled again
for a while, but the second goal gave us that bit of daylight."

Kilmallock manager Tony Considine, meanwhile, was left to rue his side's tally of 13 wides compared to Thurles' six.

"Thirteen wides and at vital stages," he sighed.

"When
Graeme Mulcahy broke through, hit the crossbar and got the point, they
went down and got the goal, so instead of being 1-8 to 0-7 in favour of
us, it was the other way round.

"After that, we still fought
hard. You can never claim to be the better team when you lose but I
don't think we were too far off it - we just failed to score when we
could have."

Munster club SHC: Second half goals see Sars through

Red-hot
favourites Thurles Sarsfields had to pull out all the stops to get the
better of Kilmallock in yesterday's AIB Munster club SHC semi-final in
Kilmallock.

Thurles Sarsfields (Tipperary) 2-10Kilmallock (Limerick) 0-11

The
underdogs started well and led by 0-3 to 0-2 after 10 minutes. However,
poor finishing became a feature of their play and a tally of 13 wides -
five in the first half - came back to haunt them in the end.

Sarsfields
capitalised on Kilmallock's wastefulness with Pa Bourke and Johnny
Enright pointing to give them a 0-5 to 0-3 lead. But the home side
responded with scores from Eoin Ryan, Shane O'Donnell and Andrew
O'Shaughnessy to go into the break on level terms, 0-6 apiece.

An
upset looked to be on the cards when Tony Considine's Kilmallock moved
into a 0-9 to 0-7 lead within four minutes of the restart thanks to
effort from Eoin Ryan and Graeme Mulcahy. But a previously subdued Lar
Corbett then pounced for a 36th minute goal and the Tipperary champions
struck for a second seven minutes later when Michael O'Brien blasted
past Barry Hennessy to make it 2-9 to 0-10 after the Kilmallock 'keeper
had brilliantly saved Denis Maher's initial shot.

An
O'Shaughnessy free narrowed the gap, but O'Brien had the final say for
Sarsfields who now go forward to meet De La Salle in what will be their
first ever provincial final appearance.

Sunday round-up: Thurles open on a winning note

Barry O'Dwyer of Thurles Sarsfields clears under pressure against Kilmallock in the Munster club SHC semi-final - INPHO

14 November 2010

Thurles Sarsfields are through to the Munster club hurling final after a five point win in Kilmallock.

It
was the first game of the day to reach full time after the other
semi-final between Sarsfields and De La Salle went to extra time.

That
other game in Pairc Ui Chaoimh turned out to be a real cracker with De
La Salle coming back to force extra time against the home side before
prevailing by the minimum margin, 0-22 to 2-15.

In Ulster,
Glenties (Naomh Conaill) qualified for the provincial football final
with a one point, 1-10 to 1-9, win over Tyrone champions Coalisland. The
Donegal side were 1-5 to 1-2 ahead at one stage and withheld a strong
comeback from Coalisland in Brewster Park.

In the final they will
face heavy weights Crossmaglen Rangers who were pushed to the pin of
their collar against Burren. The Armagh champions were always in the
driving seat but a spirited comback left just a single point between the
sides at the full time whistle.

In Leinster hurling
Oulart-the-Ballagh are through to the decider after a 4-11 to 4-8 win
against Raharney in Mullingar. In the final they will meet O'Loughlin
Gaels of Kilkenny who needed extra time to overcome Ballyboden St Endas,
1-21 to 3-11.

The Galway hurling final replay was postponed due to an unplayable pitch.

THURLES SARS had a much tougher battle than predicted in their Munster Club SHC semi-final at Kilmallock yesterday.

However, two second-half goals, combined with poor shooting by the hosts, was just enough to see them through to their first provincial final, much to the relief of manager Michael Gleeson.

"Coming down here, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and it wasn’t," Gleeson admitted. "It was a battle the whole way. We got a break with the first goal and had been struggling big-time up to then. Even after that we struggled again for a while, but the second goal gave us that bit of daylight."

Played in bright conditions, the first half was a ding-dong affair with never more than two points between two talented and committed teams.

Kilmallock started well and were three points to two ahead after ten minutes, but already the malaise that would eventually cost them dearly was starting to show – they notched up two wides in that period, both from scorable positions.

For the next 15 minutes, Sars began to dominate and points from Pa Bourke (2) and Johnny Enright saw them take an 0-5 to 0-3 lead. Back came Kilmallock, however, retaking the lead after a three-points run of their own (scores coming from Eoin Ryan, Shane O'Donnell and Andrew O'Shaughnessy), but an injury-time 65 by inter-county star Pa Bourke tied it up, 0-6 apiece, at the break.

A goal was always going to have a major impact, and so it proved. Kilmallock had the first opportunity in the 34th minute but Graeme Mulcahy's searing shot rattled the crossbar and deflected over. Three minutes later, however, it was hurler-of-the-year Lar Corbett at the other end, and this time there was no mistake. With Kilmallock having taken a two-point lead - courtesy of two O'Shaughnessy frees and that Mulcahy point - a high centre from Denis Maher fell short of the Kilmallock square.

Corbett had been superbly marshalled by a number of Kilmallock defenders but by Phillip O'Loughlin particularly all day, and now he found himself sandwiched between O'Loughlin and keeper Barry Hennessey. He had no right to win the breaking ball, but did and got a vital touch just ahead of Hennessey before the simplest of tasks to tap into the gaping goal.

"That's the way games go," Gleeson admitted. "From the sideline it can look soft but when you have two guys hanging off you and no space, it was so. Ultimately yes, it was a little fortuitous and the final touch over the line was easy, but Lar worked hard to get into that position."

The goal wrested the initiative back for Sars and another Bourke 65 - after another Hennessey save - put the Tipperary champions two points ahead (1-8 to 0-9). Kilmallock fought back, but again poor shooting cost them - four wides in a row from positions where it would have been almost easier to score.

The cost of the missed chances increased further in the 54th minute, when young sub Michael O'Brien (a member of this year's Tipperary minor team, along with another impressive sub, Aidan McCormack) pounced on the break from a blocked Denis Maher shot and when he fired home Sars' second goal, it was all over.

"Thirteen wides and at vital stages," Kilmallock manager Tony Considine surmised. "When Graeme (Mulcahy) broke through (34th minute), hit the crossbar and got the point, they went down and got the goal, so instead of being 1-8 to 0-7 in favour of us, it was the other way around.

"After that we still fought hard. You can never claim to be the better team when you lose but I don't think we were too far off it – we just failed to score when we could have. This game was very important for Limerick hurling in general - the lads wanted to stand up and prove that Limerick hurling isn’t dead, not on the club scene anyway, and I think they proved that."

Thurles Sars are undoubtedly an outstanding club side, worthy representatives of the All-Ireland champion county, but they were matched in Kilmallock in all but the scoreboard yesterday, well matched.

TIPPERARY hurlers are still leading a charmed life even as the days darken to the season's chilly close.

Hosts Kilmallock outfought and outplayed the Tipperary champions for the best part of an hour in front of a packed house yesterday, yet two small slip-ups cost them dearly as Thurles Sarsfields thieved two second-half goals to reach the Munster club final for the first time in their history.

The Limerick champions learned what many more have found to their heartbreak -- that Lar Corbett, like all the best assassins, needs just a single bullet.

Kilmallock full-back Philip O'Loughlin had a super game on the reigning Hurler of the Year, keeping him largely out of the game and scoreless until six minutes after half-time.

But then Corbett broke a long delivery from Denis Maher and scrambled it over the line for anything but a vintage 'Lar goal' and suddenly the game turned on its axis.

One of Pa Bourke's two '65s' immediately followed to extend Sars' lead to two in a four-point turnaround that put Kilmallock on the ropes for the first time in the game.

You could argue that it was the home side's own profligacy -- a whopping 13 wides, eight in the second half -- that proved even more costly.

They had four of them in a row then in a period where they also spurned a great goal chance when the Tipperary backs fumbled a ball on their own goal-line.

Yet there was no escaping the feeling that Corbett's goal had thrown Thurles a lifeline they wouldn't waste.

They didn't score again for 13 minutes when Padraic Maher emerged from a huddle to land an inspirational long-range point and within a minute the game was clinched when Bourke found Denis Maher, whose shot was initially stopped by Barry Hennessy only for substitute Michael O'Brien to slam home the rebound.

The goals decided it: the harshest of lessons for the home side who made a brilliant stab at ousting the hot favourites, who featured four of Tipperary's All-Ireland winning seniors and two county minors -- schools star O'Brien and Aidan McCormack -- whose contributions off the bench proved vital.

As you'd expect from any side managed by Tony Considine -- who was strongly critical of referee Michael Wadding afterwards -- Kilmallock were full of fight and worked tirelessly for one another.

Their early offloading game really worked and Eoin Ryan and Paudie O'Brien had the upper hand at midfield but it was a game largely dominated by both sets of defenders.

Kilmallock's centre-back and captain Gavin O'Mahony was outstanding and well supported by wing-back Liam Walsh but in the last quarter his opposite number, Tipp star Padraic Maher, emerged as Sarsfields' powerful leader.

Experienced

Thurles only got five points from play and two of those were from teenage subs McCormack and O'Brien.

But Kilmallock's experienced forwards like Graeme Mulcahy and Andrew O'Shaughnessy were also well held.

Paudie O'Dwyer and Jake Mulcahy kept driving them on but their shooting as a team was far too rushed and in the final minutes they were reduced to 14 when substitute Kieran Kenneally got a straight red card.

"We were struggling big-time up until the first goal but we worked hard to get it," admitted Thurles manager and new Tipp selector Michael Gleeson. "We're in our first Munster final now which is great but the job's not done yet."

MUNSTER SHC SEMI-FINAL Thurles Sarsfields 2-10 Kilmallock 0-11: RED-HOT favourites Thurles Sarsfields side got a bit of a fright early on and turned over level at the interval in Kilmallock.

Hurler of the year Lar Corbett had a very subdued first half but struck for the crucial opening goal early in the second period.

Kilmallock will regret their big tally of 13 wides – five in the first half – compared to only six for Thurles, who had three in each half but their experience told in the second period during which Kilmallock managed to score only five points.

The low-scoring opening half ended 0-6 apiece after they were level four times. Andrew O’Shaughnessy gave Kilmallock the start they needed with a pointed free and John Enright did likewise for Thurles Sarfields.

Thurles Sarfields reorganised their side and game plan for the second half with Corbett moving to full forward. But when Kilmallock scored the opening point, a huge effort from 70 yards by Eoin Ryan, it looked as if this might inspire the home side.

Within four minutes of the restart Kilmallock held a two-point lead, 0-9 to 0-7, and an upset was a possibility. But Corbett nipped in for a decisive goal after 36 minutes when he was given possession by Denis Maher and the ball trickled through the legs of Kilmallock keeper Barry Hennessy.

Thurles struck for their second goal seven minutes from the end. A powerful shot by Denis Maher was brilliantly saved by Hennessy but he was given no chance when substitute Michael O’Brien blasted into the net to make it 2-9 to 0-10.

An O’Shaughnessy free narrowed the gap but O’Brien had the final point for Thurles.

Kilmallock brought in Kevin Kennelly for O’Shaughnessy three minutes from the end but he was in action for just over a minute when he was shown a straight red card for a dangerous pull on Pádraic Maher who was the outstanding player on view.

Michael O’Brien made a huge impact as a substitute and Denis Maher was a constant threat to Kilmallock defenders in which Philip O’Loughlin was superb with good assistance from Gavin O’Mahoney and Bryan O’Sullivan but their forwards disappointed.